Signs of Dystopia and Demoralization in global academia: Reflections on the precarious and destructive effects of the colonization of the Lebenswelt

This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of the following article: Mike Geppert, Graham Hollinshead, (2017) "Signs of Dystopia and Demoralization in global academia: Reflections on the precarious and destructive effects of the colonization of the Lebenswelt", Critical perspectives on international business, Vol. 13(2): 136-150, May 2017, doi: 10.1108/cpoib-07-2016-0026. Published by Emerald Group Publishing Limited.Purpose Our paper has been written in the style of a provocative essay. It starts with the observation that neo-liberalism has become the leading “policy doctrine” in Higher Education (HE) systems across the globe. This has put increasing systemic political and economic pressure on many universities which not only undermine but also “colonize” the Lebenswelt or “lifeworld” (Habermas, 1987) of academics. Design/methodology/approach Our essay draws on concrete empirical examples based on our subjective experiences within the higher educational sector and secondary sources. Findings We are going to highlight and illustrate how the increasing dominance of “neo-liberal science” principles (Lave et al., 2010) severely damage the quality of knowledge production and working conditions of ordinary academics in both national and international academic communities. Practical implications Our essay provides insights into the practical implications of the spread of “neo-liberal science” principles on the work and employment of academics. Originality/value We aim to trigger critical discussion concerning how emancipatory principles of teaching and research can be brought back into the Lebenswelt of academics in order to reverse some of the destructive effects to which our essay refers to.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

International education: a force for peace and cross-cultural understanding?

This paper discusses the notion that the international sojourn has the potential to transform sojourners into cultural mediators who carry the power to improve global relations. A year-long ethnographic study of the adjustment experiences of international postgraduate students in England revealed a universal early enthusiasm for cross-cultural contact that was matched by a widespread adoption of segregated patterns of interacting. The most common friendship networks were described by bonds with conationals, and yet all students attested to an increase in their cultural learning and mindfulness by the end of the sojourn. Nevertheless, intercultural competence was maximised only in those few students who pursued a multicultural strategy of interaction, leading the researcher to call on Higher Education Institutions to instigate policies to encourage lasting cross-cultural contact

Assessment innovation and student experience: a new assessment challenge and call for a multi-perspective approach to assessment research

The impact of innovative assessment on student experience in higher education is a neglected research topic. This represents an important gap in the literature given debate around the marketization of higher education, international focus on student satisfaction measurement tools and political calls to put students at the heart of higher education in the UK. This paper reports on qualitative findings from a research project examining the impact of assessment preferences and familiarity on student attainment and experience. It argues that innovation is defined by the student, shaped by diverse assessment experiences and preferences and therefore its impact is difficult to predict. It proposes that future innovations must explore assessment choice mechanisms which allow students to shape their own assessments. Cultural change and staff development will be required to achieve this. To be accepted, assessment for student experience must be viewed as a complementary layer within a complex multi perspective model of assessment which also embraces assessment of learning, assessment for learning and assessment for life long learning. Further research is required to build a meta theory of assessment to enhance the synergies between these alternative approaches and to minimise tensions between them

A narrative inquiry into the identity formation of Chinese doctoral students in relation to study abroad

The present study explores a topic which has been under-studied to date, namely the identity formation of Chinese PhD students in relation to study abroad. Underpinned by Giddens' (1991) "reflexive project of the self", which privileges agency and reflexivity, and using a narrative inquiry approach, it presents four students' 'stories' collected through semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions in the form of a trajectory of development fro past to future. In building a picture of theways in which students' self-identity is shaped by and shapes their experience of study abroad, the stories illustrate individual agency, motivation, self-determination and reflexivity. In doing so, they challenge the essentialised view of Chinese students as a homogeneous and sometimes problematic group and point to implications for action by the host institutions

Food Consumption When Travelling Abroad: Young Chinese Sojourners’ Food Consumption in the UK

This qualitative study investigates the everyday food choices of 21 Chinese sojourners living in two different localities in the UK. Findings from a thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews reveal how participants adopt a food consumption pattern, negotiating between ordinary and extraordinary food choices, including home-made Chinese food, Chinese restaurant food, global brands, British food, to “foods of the world”. Their zooming in and out of different food consumption choices reflects the transformative identity of the sojourners, between their student role during the week and becoming tourists at the weekends, meshing work and tourism during their sojourning in the UK. Theoretically this paper extends the limited understanding of sojourners, showing how their complex food choices reflect their swift transformative identity. Findings also illustrate how consumption patterns adopted by sojourners living in rural areas differ from the ones living in an urban setting

Constructing a national higher education brand for the UK: positional competition and promised capitals

This article examines national branding of UK higher education, a strategic intent and action to collectively brand UK higher education with the aim to attract prospective international students, using a Bourdieusian approach to understanding promises of capitals. We trace its development between 1999 and 2014 through a sociological study, one of the first of its kind, from the 'Education UK' and subsumed under the broader 'Britain is GREAT' campaign of the Coalition Government. The findings reveal how a national higher education brand is construed by connecting particular representations of the nation with those of prospective international students and the higher education sector, which combine in the brand with promises of capitals to convert into positional advantage in a competitive environment. The conceptual framework proposed here seeks to connect national higher education branding to the concept of the competitive state, branded as a nation and committed to the knowledge economy

Acquisitions or Mergers? International Students’ Satisfaction with Work Availability

This study sought to examine international students' satisfaction with work availability while enrolled and the factors that influenced this satisfaction through the acquisitions and mergers framework. The findings indicated that a notable portion of international students might be treated as acquisitions, based on their self-reports of low work availability satisfaction. These students were primarily self-funded, humanities and arts majors, dissatisfied with the affordability of education and living, and felt less equally treated compared to locals.18 month embargo; published online: 01 December 2017This item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]

Academic writing in the business school: The genre of the business case report

The writing of business case reports is a common requirement for students on academic business programmes and presents significant challenges for both native and non-native speaker students. In order to support the development of pedagogical practice in the teaching of case report writing, this paper reports a genre-based study of a corpus of 53 marketing and marketing management case reports (BCR-1) written by NS and NNS postgraduate students at a UK university. Results from this localised study of academic business case reports are supplemented by comparison with sixteen business case reports from the British Academic Written English Corpus (BAWE), originating from marketing, project management and management accounting courses. The study identifies several features common to these case reports including the presence of explicit structure, impersonal style and business specialism-dependent lexis. Through the prism of Swalesian genre analysis, three obligatory broad rhetorical moves are identified (orientation, analysis and advisory moves), and five optional moves (methodology, options and alternatives, summary and consolidation, supplementary supporting information and reflection). These broad rhetorical moves are realised through diverse structural sub-components. The deployment of optional moves was found to be dependent on a range of factors, in particular business specialism, suggesting the value of specialism based pedagogy